24 hours

Mississippi #2

by Greg Iles

24 HOURS --- that's how long it takes a madman to pull off the perfect crime. He's done it before, he'll do it again, and no one can stop him.

But this time, he's just picked the wrong family to terrorize. Because Will and Karen Jennings aren't going to watch helplessly as he victimizes them. And they aren't going to let him get away with it.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2000

About the author

Greg Iles spent most of his life in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau
Phoenix, was the first of seventeen New York Times bestsellers. His Natchez
Burning trilogy continued the story of Penn Cage, the protagonist of The Quiet Game,
Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He was a
member of the lit-rock group The Rock Bottom Remainders.

Reviews

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all books by this author, the pacing, characters and momentum are top notch. That said, Greg tends towards crime/suspense stories with multiple sub-plots with scientific, political or historical elements woven into the story fabric. Instead, this is far simpler but still well crafted, especially where momentum is concerned. The other differentiator is it doesn't take place in Natchez, nor involve characters from his other stories. But like all books by this author,the plot goes haywire as it approaches the climax making the reader turn pages much faster. I've read just about every book he's written and while I enjoyed it, I prefer the complexity of his others such as the Natchez Burning trilogy. If you enjoy kidnapping stories, this will appeal to you. Were I able, I'd rate this book 3.5 stars rather than 3 since its well written, fast paced and fun!

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is aggrevatingly stupid and poorly written. It reminds me of the da vinci code where a lot of the dialog is solely to guide the idiot reader through the ridiculous plot. i can't believe this book is so popular. i could barely get through it. at least the da vinci code was all about how religion is contrived by powerful white men so that white men could remain in power.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be unfair to this book because I read it shortly after re-reading the excellent Black Cross and this may have lost some in the comparison. I do remember it as a decent enough thriller, but the competition for those are fierce and therefore the mid rating.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Greg Iles book but it will definitely not be my last. Non stop thriller from beginning to the end. Intriguing notion of how to commit the perfect kidnapping and a race against time is set in motion. Plenty of actionm especially in last 100 pages. 4.5 ⭐️. I look to forward to reading more from this author.

[Adam Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the fastest paced Iles book I have read to date, and I have read most of them. This one was nonstop action, suspense and harrowing situations that had me frantically whipping through the pages to see what happened next. Utterly captivating, even though there were a few plot pitfalls. Highly recommended.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg Iles is definitely one of my favorite suspense authors. I've read many books by him. He creates stories with a great pace and some wild, yet creative, twists. I like that he keeps it interesting. I will read anything he writes.

Now with that out of the way, this one wasn't my favorite. I did round up to 4 stars because I really wanted to see how it came together at the end. I could not have predicted the ending in a million years. He does suspense so well.

The characters, however, drove me a little crazy. The victims all suffered from an acute case of stupidity. Sometimes that is the only thing that kept the story moving....that is never my favorite. Even when characters suffer from this, I like to understand the "why". But here, I completely missed that part. The "why" didn't feel very compelling. But still 4 star worthy for me.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio and even though it was a trainwreck somehow I managed to listen to the whole thing. What can I say good about this book? It was tightly plotted and fast paced. Now for the bad.
Dick Hill, who is a well respected narrator, did all the voices for this audio. When he did the female voices, the child's voice, and the mentally challenged man's voice, I laughed...I don't think this was the effect Iles was going for.
The characters are shallow and you don't care about them. If airplane chases, shooting guns and medical torture make you breathless, then this is a book for you. Otherwise, your time will be better spent elsewhere.

[Carole Asbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book bursts out of the title page with a tightly set up kidnapping plot. It's my quirk not to lay out the plot of a book in my reviews; it's information found easily elsewhere, and I don't ever want to put a kink in the journey of discovery that an author has so carefully crafted. Thus, we are left with whether or not I liked the book, and whether it is a worthwhile read (in my very humble opinion).
This one kept me turning virtual pages for about three-quarters of the story. At that point the story became bogged down in itself, and jumped the shark so outrageously that it lost me completely. I no longer cared enough to finish it.
The number of stars awarded this title by others suggests that I am off the mark in my assessment of it. Fair enough. I just thought that "24 Hours" felt more like 3.5 months by the time that I set it aside.

[John Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like sex and violence along with your cliff-dwelling thrillers, then Greg Iles is your guy. About as good as it gets in this sub-genre. I've read about 10 of his books now and this one is as good as any of them; some are less good. His protagonists do not get to take a page or two off; they are in trouble right from the get-go. Going to the market for a quart of milk? You can assume he'll need to endure an armed robbery, a car chase, and a horrific accident from which he narrowly escapes with his life, only to get back home and discover that the bad guys have raped and murdered his wife and his little kid has been shot through the head and is hanging on by the skinniest of threads. Then the search begins and help is called in-and what help it is. Some of these guys remind me of Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. in the old FBI series, when he walks through twelve guys shooting at him with sub-machine guns, calmly pulls out his trusty pistol and, with 6 shots, kills them all, emerging untouched. With help like that, you know our guy will be standing at the end, and his kid will survive as well, until the next book, that is. The best thing, is that Iles is so good, most of this stuff seems believable as you're reading it. Maybe not the six mile float down a river filled with 33 degree snowmelt, but most of the stuff. Enjoy!!

[Jonetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will and Karen Jennings lived the ideal life, he a successful doctor and she a former nurse and medical school student now raising their five year old daughter, Abby. Their lives were suddenly disrupted by a ruthless conman and kidnapper who put them through hell over a 24 hour period. Joe Hickey targets his victims and makes sure no one is ever hurt and he has yet to kill since all of his victims pay the money and don't contact the authorities. He has a system but gets more than he bargained for with this family.

This was a chilling story that kept me riveted from the beginning. Karen and Will are in separate locations when their child is kidnapped and are kept apart throughout the ordeal. Their individual efforts to thwart the kidnappers and find a way to get Abby home safely was just as fascinating as the intrigue around the kidnappers. There are twists and upsets throughout and I couldn't stop listening to this book.

The narrator for the audiobook was exceptional in that he was able to provide distinctions for all the characters and I could readily determine who was who. But, more importantly, he was able to tell the story in a very compelling way with just the right inflections. I highly recommend this book, especially this format. It was chilling.

[Mark Souza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book opens with a kidnapped child being released in a busy McDonald's parking lot. The kidnappers have a devious method of divide and conquer to get what they want, and they have their sights on a new family. It's every parent's nightmare. The book opens with tension and never lets up. The only knock I have comes at the end where credibility is stretched molecule thin (no spoilers here, you'll know it when you see it).

In short, this book was good enough that I will be on the look out for more of Greg Iles work.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced thriller that runs the gamit of emotions and, like most of Iles' books, doesn't disappoint. A doctor's family is at risk when the six year old daughter is taken for ransom and they aren't going to let the kidnappers get away with it.

[Davin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It kept me on the edge of my sit the entire time. It is a page turner. I finished in a couple of days and I am a slow reader. Another great book from Greg. Read this book, you will not be disappointed.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What a roller coaster of a thrill ride! This book had me hooked from the first page. Would have given it five stars, but the ending seemed sort of abrupt. I would have liked to see what happened with the kidnappers and the family in the long run.....

[Karl Marberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tension starts early and does not abate. Scenes unfold left and right and the pages fly. A quick and satisfying popcorn read for thriller fans.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Will Jennings, his wife, Karen, and daughter, Abby, are having a typical afternoon seeing Will off to a medical conference. In a very short time, just 24 hours, things blow up figuratively and literally. It's an action packed tension filled mystery set into 1 day. Is it fully believable with an absence of all plot holes or TSTL moments? No. It's fun. I couldn't put it down for want of knowing what was going to happen next, but I did have to talk myself out of caring about some of the big coincidences. It's the perfect escape for vacation or quarantine reading.

[Jacob Steckbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sponsored by ADT Home Secretary

[Kori Looker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked "24 Hours" By Greg Iles, because I enjoy a good thriller book. In this book, Joey is a madman who kidnaps children with his wife, Cheryl, and his mental cousin, Huey, from rich families for ransom. Their last attempt for ransom goes wrong when they victimize Will and Karen Jennings, who both have very high income jobs. Will has been planning and preparing for his job convention that is out of town. Karen stays home to take care of their daughter, Abby. Joey watches Will and Karen's schedules, so he knows when to strike for the kidnapping. When Will takes off for his convention, Joey kidnaps Abby and holds Karen hostage for money. What Joey doesn't know, is that Karen and Will find a way to communicate to create a plan to save their family. In the end, Will and Karen save their daughter and Karen kills Joey.

The book is told through the first person point of view of Karen. Her character is faced with major life threatening decisions that are not only for her, but also for her family. Karen's character is very down to earth and is caring of her daughter. Taking care of her daughter is her biggest priority. She set aside her demanding job to raise Abby, as her husband works for his demanding job.

"24 Hours" takes place in an elegant suburb during modern times. The setting is important, because Joey and his crew go after families in rich neighborhoods. Part of Will and Karen's problem with Joey is from where they happen to live. The time is important, because kidnappings and ransoms are still a part of society today.

The main theme of "24 Hours" is kidnapping. Will and Karen struggle to communicate in hope of finding a way to save the life of their daughter. Any little thing that goes wrong, Abby's life is gone.

I would recommend this book to young adults and adults. "24 Hours" does have graphic details not needed for young ones. I enjoyed this book and rated it with five stars. Some of the reading in this book tends to get a little "messed up", so be warned.

[Samyann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Close to eleven hours of listening, narrated by Dick Hill. 24 Hours is a kidnapping for ransom thriller. This version was released in July of 2008. The story centers around Will, a doctor, and his wife and their five year old daughter. The nightmare begins with the abduction of the child by a mentally deficient man. His controlling brother, Joey, the mastermind, has control over the wife, and Will is initially clueless, at a convention. Will is approached by what he assumes is a hooker, a woman who is actually the third partner in the kidnapping scheme.

The character of Huey, the mentally challenged brother, will bring to mind the character of Karl in the movie Sling Blade. Huey has a child-like innocence and treats the little girl well. But, like Karl, violence could erupt instantly, including the death of the little girl.

There are several female voices in 24 Hours, and if you’ve listened to Dick Hill, well…female voices are not exactly his fortè. The female characters are aways breathless and moronic. Hill does a good job with the voice of the five year old little girl, however. If you can get past this picadillo, Dick Hill’s narration is wonderful, as usual.

The story is tense, a page turner, twists abound … and pretty formulaic for a kidnapping for ransom yarn. If you’re a fan of Iles, you’ll enjoy.

[Tea Time with Marce · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my blog

What a fast rush of reading to the heart pounding beat. For many this will be a one seat read. I really enjoyed this one, a packed action thriller. The whole time the images were in my mind, a definite movie like book. I should have known, it is a movie, the title is Trapped, now I must go watch it. I feel like I may have seen it because the story felt to 'real' to me, deja vu like.

The saying it is to good to be true always rings correct at some point. Why do criminals never know when to stop, that greed will get them every time. 3 Criminals pull off a great crime but only 1 was in charge, talk about scare tactics to keep loyalty.

I find children in books are always the ones that steal the story. I loved Abby. She was so genuine as a 5 year old, her fear, creative thoughts, naivety, that innocence you have to love about children.

I enjoyed how Greg Iles joined all the stories into crashing climax. There were definite unbelievable scenes, the kind you love even though you know it is all bull so for me this still gets a high rating, for others that may give them a lower rating.

Greg Iles is new to me but I look forward to reading many more, any recommendations?

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Hickey is a man with a plan... the perfect plan. He, along with his wife and cousin, kidnap the child of an unsuspecting doctor. His cousin keeps the daughter, he watches over the helpless wife, and his wife keeps an eye on the doctor who is away from the family at a medical conference. Hickey's intricate plan allows the three of them to walk away scott free and $200,000 richer. How does he know it's the perfect plan, because they've executed it five times before and now they're going for broke by kidnapping the young daughter of an anesthesiologist named Will Jennings. Now Jennings and his wife Karen have 24 hours in which to get their daughter out of harm's way. But, will Hickey stick to the plan this time? Iles throws a very detailed and well-thought out thriller that takes every parent's worst nightmare and intensifies it 100 fold. His writing is highly intelligent and well researched (in terms of Jennings' profession), but without being too technical for the lay reader to understand easily.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 24 hours, Iles presents us with a nightmare scenario of a family held hostage by a trio of kidnappers. Unable to act for fear of each other's lives, they are all at the mercy of a pair of psychopaths and a manipulated man with a learning disability.

24 hours is a terrifying trip from start to finish. Iles really keeps one guessing how things are going to turn out, and how much the heroes will have to endure to get through the night. The ride is slightly shallow however, don't expect deep insights, or even a tight intermixing of plot points. A big deal is made of the daughter's diabetes, and the father's debilitating arthritis but aside from some fussing towards the start of the book these concerns don't make much difference.

In total this is a good book, but I did feel a sense of frustration at the lack of depth (the big revelation at the end was family shouldn't take each other for granted). Especially at the quickly tied up ending. Normally I don't care for protracted epilogues, this time however I found myself curious where the characters ended up.

[Janie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book it seemed very familiar, like a movie I had seen years ago. And upon researching I discovered which movie it was but under a different name. The name of the movie is Trapped and Greg Iles wrote the screenplay. The movie was very close to the book, and I loved them both. There was plenty of action in the story and very thought provoking. What would you do if this hapened to you?

Only one thing really bothered me with this. It seemed like Will and Karen had so many opportunities to take control, but always gave in even when they had the upperhand. It made them look so weak in the face of danger. I think would have fought a little harder and it was somewhat annoying to me. But other than that I think it was really good. Iles is probably one of the most recent Authors I have started reading and I have only read a few of his books but have not been disappointed by any that I have read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a recommendation from my father and he has never steered me wrong with his suggestions. Have you ever been in a very serious, dangerous position? Think about an impending car accident that you know you cannot avoid. I hope that you will be able to say, "No!" to my question, but if you know what I am talking about, think about how everything in time seemed to surreally SLOW DOWN. That is the magical feeling that this author has captured with this book. As I was reading, I felt at times that the action/suspense had slowed down ... but in reflection, it was because I was experiencing the minute-by-minute revealing of this surreal scenario. I will look forward to reading more books by Greg Iles in the future.

[Richard Gullickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The “perfect crime” is thwarted by a determined doctor and his wife (and ultimately by the kidnappers accomplices). A great book for the beach (which is where I read it) which you really can’t put down. The strong and well drawn characters are intriguing as is the relationship between the young victim and her sympathetic captor (think of Lennie from Mice and Men). Nurse and doctor Karen and Will Jennings have their daughter kidnapped while Will is giving the keynote address at a Biloxi medical conference. You pilots in the audience will also enjoy the far fetched account of Will’s interception of the villain while totaling his precious Beach Baron light twin aircraft. If you like the book, see the movie with Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon.

[Tim Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not finished yet. In fact, only half-way through. You can't (or shouldn't) "review" a book like this. You should read it, become completely immersed to the point that you give up sleep, eating, and working in order to go through the palpable terror of being at the mercy of the evil kidnapper and at the mercy of the genius of Greg Iles. I have read a lot of his books. He is, overall, outstanding. I have only read one which I found disappointing. It doesn't matter which one. I want an endless stream of Greg Iles books to keep me reading into very old age.

[Sylvia Haberland · Rating 5 out of 5]

In diesem Buch geht es um ein Verbrechen, das schon mehrmals erfolgreich durchgeführt wurde, um Geld zu erpressen. Nach den Verbrechen wurde niemals eine Anzeige bei der Polizei erstattet, weil der Täter genau weiß, wie er seine Opfer in Schach halten kann. Nur bei dem 5. Mal, läuft alles anders, weil sich das Ehepaar Will und Karen Jennings nicht einfach in ihr Schicksal ergeben.
Ich habe selten ein so stimmiges und spannendes Buch gelesen.

[Vannetta Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book at my library and the storyline sounded interesting.
Writers could learn a lot about PACING from this book as the conflict starts and never lets up.
That said, even though it.s a mainstream fiction title, I still did not expect or enjoy the degree of detail in the rape scene. I didn.t expect a rape scene at all--it.s a kidnapping story. Also, the ending seemed utterly implausible. That said, some of the minor characters are very well written.

Note: Language and explicit scenes

[Olivia Ro · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book I have ever read. The only reason I read it all the way through is because I wanted to see if I could make it, or to see if there was anything redeeming about the story. There was nothing. It was just bad. There is a scene where the mom hides a scalpel between her asscheeks. It was painful to read. I look forward to the day when I find a worse book. I don't think that day will come.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nerve-shattering thriller. Couldn't put it down. Though miles apart, the brilliant physician, the protective mother, and the resourceful child struggle against the clock to thwart the madman who threatens their family, and to reunite at last.